WILMORE, Ky. --- The Asbury men's basketball team (0-1, 0-0 CCS) slipped in their season opener on Friday night in Wilmore, Ky., to NCAA DIII opponent Centre College (1-0, 0-0 SAA), 86-71.
Asbury Athletics Official Banking Corporate Sponsor First Southern National Bank presented the matchup. First Southern is the presenting sponsor of Asbury Sports Digital Network, where fans can watch all AU home games live.
Centre went 14-30 from three (46.7%) and made 20 free-throws to secure the win. The Colonels outscored Asbury 44-33 in the first half and 42-38 in the second.
AU made nine threes and shot 46% from the field, also making 12 of their 14 free-throw attempts. Asbury was outrebounded by Centre 35-22 in the non-conference matchup.
The Eagles had four players in double-digit scoring, including
Luke Imfeld (14),
Jordan Lewis (11),
Isaiah Stephan (11), and
Tyler Hall (10).
Imfeld, a junior finance major, went 5-8 from the field with two threes, three rebounds, and two assists. Lewis dished three assists to go with his 11 points in his first game as an Eagle.
Kalib Thomas led Centre in scoring with 18 points, also adding four rebounds and four assists. Centre was recently picked to win The Southern Athletic Association in preseason conference rankings.
"Not the outcome we were hoping for, obviously, but we saw some things from our team that we can fix and get better from. Really, we had a chance to close a five-point gap with five minutes remaining and just didn't capitalize on key moments of the game. We really look forward to this group's growth and journey along the way."
Russ Abner | Asbury Associate Head Coach
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Luke Imfeld | 14 PTS, 5-8 FG, 3 REB, 2 AST
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Jordan Lewis | 11 PTS, 5-6 FT, 3 AST
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Isaiah Stephan | 11 PTS, 3-4 3PT
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Tyler Hall | 10 PTS, 2 AST, 2 REB
AU will travel to Berea, Ky., on Tuesday night for another NCAA non-conference battle with Berea College.
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